On Friday, April 11, the art gallery was host to the opening reception for “The Colors of India: Traditional Sari Exhibit”. It was a beautiful day and we had many folks who stopped in for the Indian food (thank you Bay Leaf Cafe), sari wrapping demonstration, and more! The exhibit was made possible by The Big Read grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The gallery had many donated saris on display, including an Indian wedding invitation. Now, not all Indians put on $2 million dollar weddings, but one of our Spearfish friends was invited to such a wedding. On display is the ornate wedding invitation and wedding objects from that week long activities. Did we say week long? Yes.
Ronalda Lee, a Spearfish resident, used our own staff member, Ava Sauter, as her model in a sari-wrapping demonstration. Most saris are 6 yards long! That’s a lot of wrapping, tucking, and pinning. Ronalda also wore a beautiful bright pink sari of her own.
Hayli Barnthouse, a senior at Spearfish High School, (picture below) just returned days before this reception from a semester as a foreign exchange student in India. She
and her mother both wore traditional saris. Hayli spoke about the experiences she had during her time in India, including cultural differences in food, social mannerisms, and clothing.
The sari exhibit’s last day is Saturday, April 26. If you are in the area, be sure to stop in to enjoy the beautiful Indian apparel.
Enjoy pictures of the reception just below.
The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.